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What Experts Say

A sleepover can be a hugely fun experience for pre-teens and teens, involving lots of giggling, staying up late, eating junk food, watching movies, and coming home pooped the next day. It's not bad for you, either -- you get a night off (if you're not hosting).

You will most likely feel more comfortable letting your child attend sleepovers if you know and trust the host's parents, so if this is a new friend of your child's, call up her parents so you can make sure you have similar ideas about supervision and rules. If you're uncomfortable with it, you might suggest hosting the sleepover instead.

When many parents think of sleepovers, they think of girls going to girls' houses and boys going to boys' houses. However, sleepovers that include both boys and girls have become increasingly common. If this is something that you're comfortable with, establish some ground rules to ensure that all children and parents are on the same page:

• Will parents be awake at all hours to supervise? If not, what time will parents go to bed?
• Do the parents know all the children who will attend?
• Have they spent time around these children to ensure that they are trustworthy?

You should also talk with your child about what to do if something begins to happen that makes her feel uncomfortable, such as someone having alcohol or two of the teens making out. Hatch a plan for your child to be able to leave the situation while still saving face, such as feigning a migraine headache or upset stomach.